PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) - A plan to convert a church into a mosque has divided this mostly Christian suburb outside Chicago and prompted allegations of bigotry against Muslims.
The Al Salam Mosque Foundation wants to buy the Reformed Church of Palos Heights for $2.1 million and turn it into a place of worship for the city’s 450 Muslim families, many them of Arab descent.
During the furor, a small number of residents declared Christianity the one true religion'' and called Islam a false religion.‘’ A federal mediator stood up at a recent City Council meeting with an offer to step in. The council did not take up the offer.
Elsewhere around the country, residents in Wichita, Kan., have tried to keep a Hindu temple out of their neighborhood, citing parking concerns. And in Irvine, Calif., parents recently protested a plan to convert an ice rink into a synagogue.
``There’s always a quasi-rational reason … to thwart non-Christian groups from coming in,‘’ said the Rev. Stanley Davis Jr., executive director of the Chicago office of the National Conference for Community and Justice, a nonprofit group of Christians, Jews and Muslims.